This is despite a crippling shortage of nurses and medical staff in the province. According to the Free State Provincial Chairperson of the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa), Thibogang Thole, there are approximately 200 nursing graduates annually, from colleges and institutions in the province with some of them unemployed despite vacancies. 

Thole says previously they were told the Department was unable to hire more staff because it was under administration. Now that the Department is no longer under administration, Thole wants to know why they can’t hire nurses to deal with the staff shortages.

Thole says three nurses in one facility seeing about 250 patients a day is not acceptable. He appealed to the community to put pressure on the government to have more nursing personnel hired.

Yesterday Denosa released a statement asking the National Health Department to intervene in the province after midwives and staff at Pelonomi Hospital’s maternity ward in Bloemfontein forwarded their list of grievances, which include staff shortages, among others, to management. 

The Free State Health Department could not be reached for comment.

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